Reviews

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Death on the Road (2005)

Part 36 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

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IRON MAIDEN – Death on the Road (2005)

When Death On The Road came out, I was very excited. When a band of Iron Maiden’s age (or Rush’s, for that matter) put out great new studio albums, I like a live album to follow. Back in the 80’s I would have found this unnecessary  However, let’s face it — how many more Maiden tours will be there be? How many times will Maiden play “Passchendale” live? It may never happen, so a souvenir like this is important to me.  Some fans would simply choose not to buy an album like this since they may already own Rock In Rio, and that’s fine.  For me, I want to hear more.  I want to hear “Dance of Death”.  I want to hear “Passchendale”.  I want to hear “Journeyman”.

Anyway, what I’m getting at is: If you don’t want it, don’t buy it. If you love Maiden, and if they never play these songs again, then why miss out? New fans would be better off picking up Live After Death or Flight 666 (which we’ll get to in due time) for a better overview of the whole Maiden shebang. For the diehards, this is solid.

Death On The Road, recorded in Dortmund Germany on 24 November 2003, has a good mix of newer “reunion” era Maiden with the classics. Yes, I could probably go the rest of my life without ever hearing another version of “Run To The Hills” or “Running Free”, but it’s a double CD and you may as well get the whole setlist. If Maiden didn’t play those songs live, there would be riots. The real treats here are the Dance Of Death material.  There’s a DVD too, which I don’t have — very expensive and hard to get here.

The show opens with one new track, “Wildest Dreams”, the first single from Dance of Death.  While this was never a personal favourite of mine, it is better live than on the album.  Also better live is the single “Rainmaker”.  It just has a little more energy which helps compensate f0r the “repetitive chorus syndrome”.  “Wrathchild” and a somewhat flat “Can I Play With Madness” represent the early material right off the bat, before Maiden slam into “The Trooper” which was the single from this album.

“Dance of Death” begins with Bruce quoting Hamlet:  “There are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”  I love this song. The afforementioned “Rainmaker” and “Brave New World” follow.  Surprisingly, “Brave New World” is the only song from that album, where Rock In Rio had plenty of material from it.  This is why it is important for a band of Maiden’s stature to keep releasing live albums.  The setlists change drastically tour to tour.

The best of the new songs, “Passchendale” (with more poetry, this time from Wilfrid Owen), stokes the fire, taking its place in Maiden history as one of their best live epics.  It shines live.  It is followed by a lackluster “Lord of the Flies”.  While these Blaze Bayley songs sound awesome with Bruce’s pipes, it was probably past time to retire them from the set.  After all, they could have played “The Wicker Man” or an older song like “Powerslave” instead of this tune that, frankly, isn’t up to the quality of the rest of the concert.  Anyway, it’s nice to have a Blaze song “sung properly” so to speak, although Bruce has to awkwardly shift from his low voice to high.  It was clearly not written for his voice, but he does his best with the material at hand.

It is on disc two that the classics come out.  After a repetitive “No More Lies” that goes on a bit too long, you are assaulted with “Hallowed”, “Fear of the Dark”, “Iron Maiden”, “Beast”, and of course “Run to the Hills”, with only the acoustic “Journeyman” breaking up the slew of hits.   “Journeyman” was a brave choice live, but the crowd know every note.  Judging by the sequence this seems to be the first song of the encores.  Wonderful soloing here.

Production by Kevin “Caveman” Shirley and Steve Harris is fine, but a little bit more dull than the stellar Rock In Rio. Cover art (once again by Melvyn Grant who did Fear of the Dark) is a bit cheesy and I’m not too much into the choice of colours. The booklet, as always, is loaded with awesome live shots.

With this album in the can, Bruce had time for another solo album.  How could he possibly top or even equal The Chemical Wedding?  With a Tyranny of Souls…

4/5 stars

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REVIEW: Iron Maiden – The Trooper (2005 single, CD/12″/7″/download)

1703Part 35 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews! 

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IRON MAIDEN – “The Trooper” (2005 single, available on CD, 7″, 12″, and a special download with an exclusive track)

“The Trooper” was re-released as a live single, in support of Maiden’s forthcoming Death on the Road live album (up next in my series of Maiden reviews), and their then-current Eddie Rips Up the World tour. It was released in numerous formats, each with its own exclusive content. Let’s look at ’em all:

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CD Single

This, the most common format to find, contains 3 audio tracks and 2 videos. Personally, I never watch these enhanced CDs, and both these videos are available elsewhere on DVD. They are the 2003 live version of “The Trooper” from the Death on the Road DVD, and the original music video.

The 3 audio tracks are:

  1. “The Trooper” – 2003 live version from Death on the Road
  2. “The Trooper” – original album version from Piece of Mind
  3. ‘“Prowler” – 2005 live version from the Eddie Rips Up the World tour

I love when Bruce sings the old Di’Anno-era classics, and this version of “Prowler” is exclusive to the CD format. During the Eddie Rips Up the World tour, they only played tracks from the first 4 records! That was because at the same time, they were also promoting their 2004 The Early Years DVD, which I talked about last time.

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mp3 Single

Undoubtedly, the rarest version. Since you can’t take a picture of a non-physical format, here’s a picture of the CD that I made of it!

This is what the download site had to say at the time about this odd-duck release:

To celebrate the release of their new single The Trooper, Iron Maiden are also releasing an exclusive EXTRA digital-only version of the track. Taken from their concert at Eglishollin Stadium, Reykjavik, ONLY AVAILABLE HERE complete with some very special extras!

I don’t have a clue what the extras were supposed to be, all I got was the mp3.  If there was anything exclusive such as artwork that was supposed to come with it, I’ve never found any evidence of it.  I have to discount any rumours of artwork.

  1. ‘”The Trooper” – 2005 live version from the current Eddie Rips Up the World tour, Reykjavik, Iceland

This is a slightly more frantic version than the 2003 live take, and trying to find a copy online is futile today.  I’ve had many people ask me to send them a copy.  Sorry, that’s not what this blog is for.  I don’t know what copyright laws regarding this are, but more to the point, I’m here to share my knowledge, not my music.

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7″ Single (blue vinyl)

I love this one. Here’s the track list:

  • A. “The Trooper” – 2003 live version from Death on the Road
  • B. “Another Life” – 2005 live version from the current Eddie Rips Up the World tour

Again, another Di’Anno classic from the Eddie Rips Up the World tour, and a smokin’ one at that. The only other place you could hear Dickinson sing this song is a 1982 version, exclusive to the massive Eddie’s Archive box set, which we’ve already covered.

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12″ Single (picture disc)

These 12″ picture discs are desired by collectors, but never sound as good as regular vinyl. Play it once, put it on your computer, and keep the record safe.

  • A1. “The Trooper” – 2003 live version from Death on the Road
  • A2. “The Trooper” – original album version from Piece of Mind
  • B. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” – 2005 live version from the current Eddie Rips Up the World tour

So again, a Di’Anno era classic, exclusive to this format. A couple earlier versions with Bruce singing are available on the Eddie’s Archive box set. This is the most current recording available of Maiden playing this song. Maiden generally don’t play a lot of the old Di’Anno’s anymore, excluding stuff like “Iron Maiden” and “Running Free”.

So, as a huge fan of Bruce singing Di-Anno era Maiden, and as a big fan of beautiful vinyl, gotta give this:

5/5 stars

Next time, we’ll talk about Death on the Road itself.  Stay tuned.

Note: All comments regarding trades will be deleted.

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – “The Number of the Beast” (2005 single) / The Early Days (DVD)

Part 34 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

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IRON MAIDEN – “The Number of the Beast” (2005 CD/vinyl single)

I’ve decided, much like my idol Martin Popoff, to stick pretty much to audio releases when it comes to this series of Maiden reviews.  To get into video just opens a big can of worms that I don’t think I can handle.  However worth mentioning is the excellent Maiden DVD The Early Days.

SAM_1611A two-disc set, The Early Days combines an excellent documentary with lots of rare early Maiden footage featuring Di’Anno and Dickinson.  Live At The Rainbow, Beast Over Hammersmith (audio available on Eddie’s Archive), Live In Dortmund, and Live at the Ruskin Arms are all a part of this, as well as some videos and Top of the Pops performances.  The documentary chronicles the early days and features interviews with ex members Paul Di’Anno, Clive Burr, Dennis Stratton, Dave Sullivan, Terry Rance, Doug Sampson, Ron “Rebel” Matthews, Terry Wapram and Bob Sawyer.  There are very few members missing from this documentary; most notably singers Paul Day and Den Wilcock, and drummer Thunderstick.

The following year, Maiden re-released “The Number of the Beast” as a CD single, with an advertisement promoting The Early Days on the back.   Therefore I’ve decided to consider this single as promotional to The Early Days, which also contains the video for “Beast”.

The tracklisting is as follows:

  1. “The Number of the Beast” (original version)
  2. “The Number of the Beast” (live at Brixton ’02)
  3. “Hallowed Be That Name” (live at Brixton ’02)

plus videos:

  1. “The Number of the Beast” (Camp Chaos version — essentially has added animations)
  2. “The Number of the Beast” (live at Brixton ’02)

I also have a red vinyl 7″ single with a lovely poster.  This one just contains the two versions of “Beast”.

These live tracks being ’02, they featuring the six-man lineup of Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, Janick Gers, Adrian Smith, and Nicko McBrain.

So what can I say as far as an actual review goes?  Well, it’s Maiden live in ’02, two of their all time best tracks.  “Hallowed” in particular smokes with fiery solos by Dave and Janick.  Janick simply burns up the fretboard with the kind of speedy fingerwork that the fans love him for.  Bruce is in top voice.

As a nice little extra bonus single for the fans, I have no complaints.

5/5 stars

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – No More Lies EP (2004)

Part 33 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!…and CONGRATS TO MAIDEN on your Grammy nomination!

IRON MAIDEN – No More Lies EP (2004, enhanced)

Don’t ask me what qualifies this as an EP and not a single. I don’t know. Anyway, “No More Lies” was from the Dance of Death album, and this EP comes handsomely packed in a cool box with a Maiden wristband. Collectors will want to keep that clean — not for working out in!

The tunes, however, are why you should be buying this, and it is worth buying for the orchestral version of “Paschendale”. One of the best war epics ever written by Iron Maiden (please, bring it back live?), it paints a vivid picture of the trenches during WWI. Guitar melodies dance, and the song is in your head after only one listen. You also get an electric version of “Journeyman”, which was acoustic on the album.  I’m not a huge fan of the song “No More Lies” itself.  It’s fine but would have been better two minutes shorter.

But what’s this?  A hidden track?  Yes it is!  Nicko McBrain takes lead vocals (!) on a comedic rendering of “Age of Innocence”!  We all know Maiden enjoy their joke tunes (“Sheriff of Huddersfield”, “Black Bart Blues”) and it is great to see that they still have a sense of humour.

If you can find it at a decent price (might be hard today), do it.

5/5 stars

1. No More Lies
2. Paschendale (Orchestral Version)
3. Journeyman (Electric Version)
4. Age of Innocence (How Old?) (hidden track)

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Dance Of Death (2003)

Part 32 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Dance Of Death (2003)

Dance of Death (Iron Maiden’s 13th studio album and 2nd since the triumphant return of Bruce and Adrian) is yet another monster filled with dramatic metal. Yes, I do find it slightly inferior to the previous album, Brave New World, which was near-perfect for its time. However, Dance of Death should not be dismissed. There are Iron Maiden classics here to rival material from the glory days, plus deep album tracks worth listening to.

First I want to mention the album cover — for the second time, Iron Maiden have done what I consider to be a terrible cover! (I consider the original No Prayer cover to be almost as bad.) I’d never wear this on a T-shirt! This is awful, awful, awful! This is, by far, the worst album cover Maiden have ever used. If you look carefully there are mistakes all over the place, such as the baby’s foot going through the wolf! Fortunately, the inner booklet is much better. Like a ghostly version of the orgy scene in Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, the indifferent band are surround by masked, topless, phantom women.

Onto the music!

I found Bruce Dickinson’s voice on this album to be weaker than Brave New World. My personal feeling at the time (and this is just my opinion) was that the band rushed into recording too soon after touring. As such, Bruce’s voice sounds more worn out, similar to the way it did on No Prayer. The rest of the band is as strong as ever, and all six members write. Even Nicko McBrain, who gets his first-ever writing credit…”Mission From ‘Arry” notwithstanding!

The album starts with the first single, and unfortunately one of the weakest songs. It is the brief Smith/Harris rocker, “Wildest Dreams”. This ain’t a “Wicker Man” nor a “Tailgunner”. It’s lacklustre, and I have no idea why it was chosen as the first single.

The second single “Rainmaker” follows, a much better song. Bruce’s voice seems stronger here. The vocal and guitar melodies are excellent and memorable. Great chorus, great guitar lines, good choice for a single.

“No More Lies” is next, and the only weak thing about the song is that it follows the same formula as the Brave New World tunes — too much repetition in the chorus. There’s only so many times you want to hear, “No more lies, no more lies, no more lies, no more lies!” Alright! I get it already! Bizarrely, this was the third single (technically an EP) even though it’s over 7 minutes long.

Next is the first historical epic of the album, “Montségur”. One of the fastest and heaviest songs on the album, it is lyrically better than it is musically. Musically, it stumbles a bit, with the vocal melodies not fitting quite right and the lyrics sung too fast.

Finally the album really picks up steam with the centerpiece, “Dance of Death”. Beginning slow with some nice clean picked guitar and ‘Arry’s bass, Bruce sings of a strange night when he’d “had one drink, but no more.” This is a classic, a fantastic song lyrically similar to “Number of the Beast” but musically a beast of its own.  Some critics likened it a bit too much to “Stonehenge” by Spinal Tap.  Well, fair enough.  It does share some similarities, especially when the dwarves start dancing!  But admit it to me:  You liked “Stonehenge”, didn’t you?  I did!

“Gates of Tomorrow” and “New Frontier” (co-written by McBrain) are up next. Both are strong rockers, typical Maiden album fare.  Perhaps nothing that needs to be performed live when your canon is as strong as Maiden’s, but nothing skip-worthy.

“Paschendale” is arguably the best song on the entire album. Another historical war epic, this one was written by Adrian Smth and Steve Harris. It is pure, classic Iron Maiden. Clocking in at 8:28, there is not one dull moment in the entire song. Often I find myself skipping back to hear it again. Lyrically it is very powerful, bringing to mind the muddy stinking conditions of the trenches in World War I. Musically this is among the very best songs Maiden have ever composed. This was also released in an orchestral version but I’ll discuss that later on.  (How did they do that eagle screaming sound?  Is that a guitar?)

It’s hard to follow a song like that, but “Face In The Sand” is another great album track, memorable and heavy.  Again, not really worthy of the live set, but certainly not a bad song by any stretch.

I have always been partial to the rare songs that Dave Murray writes, such as “Deja Vu” or “Still Life”. “Age of Innocence” has a powerful memorable chorus and is a personal favourite. If I had been in charge at EMI, this would have been a single instead of “No More Lies”. After hearing it once, you cannot get the chorus out of your head.

So we only get one chance, can we take it?
And we only get one life, can’t exchange it
Can we hold on to what we have? Don’t replace it
The age of innocence is fading…Like an old dream

The album ends with one of most unique Iron Maiden songs ever written. “Journeyman”, which sounds to me like a Dickinson baby, is a quiet acoustic number with orchestral backing. Don’t call it a ballad! This is a quiet epic, a new kind of Maiden sound that they were able to expand upon in later albums.  The choruses are powerfully sung by Bruce.  It’s certainly one of the most adventurous tunes Maiden have done, simply because it is so different from anything in their past.

And that’s the album. It is easy to see why Dance of Death does not sit will with some fans. Some of the early songs suffer from repetition again. Bruce’s voice is not as strong as the previous album (to my ears). You have to listen to it multiple times to get into some of the tracks. I can see some fans, whose tastes are more narrow and specific, not wanting to give Dance of Death another chance. That’s a shame because this is a good Iron Maiden album. Not among their top three, or even the top five, but Iron Maiden do not have very many weak albums.

I mentioned the orchestral version of “Paschendale”. There are three singles to be collected from this album:

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1. “Wildest Dreams”: B-side was a very funny and rare jam session by Iron Maiden called (ha ha!) “Pass the Jam”.  There are also other tunes on the different editions.  The CD has an orchestral mix of “Blood Brothers” from Brave New World, while the DVD has a “rock mix” of both “The Nomad” and “Blood Brothers” from the same album.  I do not have the DVD single, and Christmas is coming if you feel generous!  The orchestral version has, unsurprisingly, more orchestration.  The rock mixes are very similar to the album versions, perhaps the rhythm guitars are louder in the mix.

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2. “Rainmaker” contained a dramatic orchestral version of “Dance of Death” and a second jam session called “More Tea Vicar”.  This is another jokey tune featuring Bruce rapping!  The Japanese single, which I recently acquired from eBay (so recently that it actually arrived TODAY) at an excellent price has two exclusive live tracks!  It even had the obi strip intact.

The live tracks are 2002 live recordings of “The Wicker Man” and “Children of the Damned” at Brixton, but the vocals on “Wicker Man” aren’t mixed high enough.  “Children of the Damned” is in the only live version available featuring the six-man lineup, and my God does it smoke!  It really benefits from the three guitars, and Bruce nails that scream at the end.  The domestic single lacks these two live tracks.  Who wants my old copy of the domestic?  Speak now or forever hold your peace.

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3. No More Lies: Technically an EP, I’ll do a full review of this one next.

4.25/5 stars

REVIEW: Europe – Prisoners In Paradise (1991, 2001 reissue)

Published: December 3 2012

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EUROPE – Prisoners In Paradise (1991, 2001 reissue)

Ugh.

I know people who love this album, and admittedly it has a couple good songs on it. However, by this time Europe had lost their identity. They were now openly pursuing a commercial American sound, and it shows. The regality of old Europe was now only audible on a handful of tracks. On some, they were attempting to milk the ZZ Top cow. This is by their own admission. On other songs, you can mistake them for Roxette!

I had always loved Europe, and could not wait for the fifth album. Three years in the waiting, when Prisoners of Paradise finally dropped I snapped it up. Produced by Beau Hill (one of my least favourite metal producers of all time, ruining almost every band he touched, hello Twisted Sister!) and mixed in “Q Sound” (remember that?) I was immediately taken aback. Europe did promise a “heavier” album, and in a sense, this has more guitars. However, heavy is not the word I would have chosen. The album is overproduced, overpolished, and contrived. With a few notable exceptions, the riffs don’t stand out and the songs just drown in a morass of gang vocals courtesy of Hill’s horrendous production.

“All Or Nothing” (co-written by Mr. Big’s Eric Martin), the opening track, is a great example of this. Yeah, sure, it’s based on guitars rather than keys. However, this is a pop song!  Track two, “Halfway to Heaven”, co-written by Jim Vallance sounds exactly like Roxette. My Roxette-loving sister adored this song. “I’ll Cry For You” is a way, way, way overproduced ballad. No wonder the band preferred their later acoustic rendering of it. “Little Bit Of Loving” is just a bad song, too American sounding for this band, not worthy of the name Europe. “Talk To Me” isn’t bad, and “The Seventh Sign” is at least heavier, but not a particularly memorable song.

That ended side one of the original album. Side two began with the first really good song, “Prisoners in Paradise”. This ballad-like anthem is still overproduced, but it at least breathes and is irresistibly catchy. I just don’t get that dumb, spoken word opening. “Man, I just wanna be somebody!” Come on, guys. Let’s not write down to “the kids”. (Why did bands always refer to their fans as “the kids”?)

“Bad Blood” sucks. “Homeland” is not bad, and could have fit in on the previous album Out Of This World. It’s a decent song, and the lyrics at least sound heartfelt rather than contrived. This however is followed by the absolute worst song on an already dreadful album: The ZZ Top inspired “Got Your Mind In The Gutter”. The lyrics: dumb. The riff: stale. The chorus: awful. Terrible song. We’re almost near the end, and “Til My Heart Beats Down Your Door”, although a bit too soft, has a pulse.

Europe at least had the class to write one classic great song and end the album with it: “Girl From Lebanon”. It grooves, but not in a cheesy contrived way like the rest of the album. The chorus is irresistible  It’s a great song, and the only truly 100% great song on the album.  This one has the regal Europe sound that I missed. They still play it live.

Remastered versions of the album throw on two bonus tracks, both nondescript and not memorable: “Mr. Government Man” and “Long Time Comin'”. No matter how many times I’ve played the CD, these two songs refuse to stick to my brain.

Commercially, Europe’s fifth album was a complete dud, and sounded that much more stupid in the wake of its competition. Not that Europe could have foreseen this, but Nevermind, Ten, and Badmotorfinger drove this album into the dirt. Fans were eager to soak up something more heavy, heartfelt and real. While Europe’s goal here was to “heavy up” their sound (this is the direction that metal was going in previous months anyway) they were completely lapped by the new kids on the block. And then came a decade-long hiatus.

The good news is that Europe came back with original member John Norum on guitar for 2003’s excellent Start From The Dark, one of their best records.

2/5 stars


Lineup – Joey Tempest, vocals. Kee Marcello, guitars. Mic Michaeli, keys. Ian Haugland, drums. John Levén , bass.

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Edward The Great (2002)

Part 31 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Edward The Great (2002)

“If you have purchased this then you have no doubt heard of Iron Maiden at some point during the band’s career over the last two-and-a-half decades.” – from the liner notes by Steve Harris

Clearly this CD (released simultaneous with the Eddie’s Archive box set) was not designed for the existing Iron Maiden fans.  The die hards were not the intended target market, they got the box set to satisfy them.

In fact, Maiden wisely made the cover art (a ho-hum piece by someone named Tom Adams) available for free download.  They knew some fans would just want it, and didn’t to force them to shell out for an album full of songs they already had.  Again.

Yes, this was Maiden’s third compilation CD since 1996’s Best of the Beast.  To keep things interesting, at least they shook up the format a bit.  Unlike Beast, this is not a career spanning anthology.  Unlike Ed Hunter, the fans did not vote on the tracks.  Edward the Great was a simple chronological compilation of singles from 1982 to Brave To World.  It ends with a recent track, a live version of “Fear of the Dark” from 2001’s Rock In Rio disc.  I don’t understand the lack of Di’Anno tracks while still including two Bayley songs.

(NOTE:  Maiden have also re-released the disc with an updated tracklist.  I don’t have that, so I can’t really talk about it.    Except to say it still has Blaze stuff on it!)

There’s an attractive booklet but not enough pictures.  For a CD called Edward the Great, I think a few Eddies from the past would be in order.   Oh well.

With the exception of the Blaze material, which simply breaks up the flow of the disc, every song belongs here.  You could argue about exclusions, certainly.  Most conspicuous by its absence is “Aces High”.  You could also make a case for including the original studio version of “Fear of the Dark”.  Playing Devil’s advocate, perhaps Maiden included the live version to demonstrate the power of an Iron Maiden concert to the initiated.

Whatever the case may be, as a greatest hits set I find this one lacking a bit.  Considering the format, I would have chosen to call it the “Bruce years” and remove the Blaze tracks.  Then you’d have room for two more classic singles (perhaps “Aces High”, “Tailgunner”, or “Be Quick of Be Dead”.  As it stands I don’t understand excluding Di’Anno classics in favour of more recent Blaze material (two songs that they weren’t playing live anymore anyway).

1.5/5 stars.  Better compilations were to come.

REVIEW: Alice Cooper – Lace and Whiskey (1977)

Next in line of my reviews from Record Store Excursion 2012!  Check out the video below if you missed it.  This one bought at Sonic Boom Music for a measly $7.99!  Thanks, Sonic Boom!

MIKE AND AARON GO TO TORONTO

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ALICE COOPER – Lace and Whiskey (1977)

I’m a big fan of some of these “lost” Alice records, the ones that might not be considered the big hits, from his late 70’s alcoholidaze.  Alice Cooper Goes To Hell was a really cool record, one I like a lot despite its disco tendencies.  Lace and Whiskey followed it a year later.  This is actually Alice’s third solo record, post-Alice Cooper Band.  (I talked about the disintegration of that band in a previous Record Store Tale, see the video blog below!)

Alice tends to write his albums in terms of themes:  Alice in school, Alice having a nightmare, Alice horror.  This time, Alice takes the guise of a heavy drinking detective!

It’s another diverse platter, from honky-tonk (“Damned if You Do”) to more disco and flamboyant balladry that Alice had become known for.  I don’t find there to be a weak track on the whole album.  I’m not a huge fan of the ballad “You And Me”, as it’s hard to compete with a tune like “Only Women Bleed” or even “I Never Cry”.  But it was a hit for Alice, and it’s certainly not bad.   It even made the Muppet Show.  Who can forget Alice dueting with a peacock?  Or whatever that is.

The whole album drips of Ezrin-isms, you can hear his touch on every track.  From rich orchestras, horns, choirs, and the well-honed arrangements he was known for, this album could not have happened without Ezrin.  Indeed, he co-wrote all but two songs.

“King of the Silver Screen” is a great example of a Cooper/Ezrin/Dick Wagner composition.  It has that dramatic Ezrin touch, Alice’s Hollywood-homage lyrics, with a rock guitar riff that serves to anchor the whole thing.  And what’s with those little musical segues there?  I love when Ezrin does stuff like that!

I love “Ubangi Stomp” too.   It’s a 1950’s boogie with Alice doing his best Elvis.  Just great!  Plus who else could possibly utilize the word “Ubangi” in popular music?  Alice, that’s who.

Lace and Whiskey is surely one  of the most diverse Alice records, and that is one thing I love about Alice.  I even like the disco song.  Yes, I like the disco song!  No genre is sacred, nothing safe from his sabre.  But it’s all in good fun.  Nobody gets hurt.

Nobody but Alice, who checked into a mental institution shortly after this tour, to deal with his alcohol problems.  But that’s another story.

The tendency from many mainstream music critics is to rate these mid-period Alice albums poorly. But why?  The songs are good, they just don’t rock as hard.  Disco?  So what?  One of Kiss’ best albums was a disco album.

So a middle finger to the mainstream critics.  I like Lace and Whiskey and I’m glad I found it at a cheap price.  Thanks, Sonic Boom!

4/5 stars

REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Eddie’s Archive (2002)

Part 30 of my series of Iron Maiden reviews!

IRON MAIDEN – Eddie’s Archive (2002, limited edition)

Eddie’s Archive was released simultaneously with another (!) greatest hits compilation called Edward The Great.  We’ll talk about that one next.  This is the real meat of it all!

This box set defines limited edition. I’m not sure how many copies were made, but the first printing with blue inlay was sold out nearly immediately. That’s the version I have. It was soon reissued with a red inlay to differentiate it, but even it is long out of print.

Inside you will find three individually packaged jewel cases, each containing 2 CDs for a total of 6 discs. These three “double albums” (for lack of a better term) are:

BBC Archives
Beast Over Hammersmith
Best of the B’Sides

The main reason to buy this set are the first two albums, BBC Archives and Beast Over Hammersmith.  To me, the Best of the B’Sides only scratches the surface of the treasures to be found on the numerous Iron Maiden singles and EP’s.  And as loyal LeBrain readers know, I’ve talked about ’em all.

BBC Archives contains numerous goodies. It starts off with a rare four song session by an ealy version of Maiden featuring Doug Sampson (drums) and Tony Parsons (guitar). Listening to “Sanctuary” as an example, you can tell it’s a guitar player you’re not familiar with. This is Parsons’ only recording with Maiden, but “Sanctuary” was previously released on the very rare NWOBHM compilation that Lars Ulrich put together.  I love the pure fire and raw youth of these early recordings.  “Transylvania” feels very different from its album incarnation.  You can tell it’s a different drummer.  And of course since it is the BBC, they are expertly recorded.

From there it’s a scorching ’82 set with Dickinson at Reading. Then back to 1980 for a Di’Anno Reading set, and finally to 1988 for a Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (Donington) recording. All of these are pure smoke and it’s great to hear Bruce in peak voice. Unfortunately, on this album alone, you will hear “Iron Maiden” four times!  It is what it is.  You wouldn’t want them to leave any tracks out, would you?

Next disc has the ’82 Hammersmith show. A couple tracks from these were issued as B-sides on the “Run To The Hills” single from Rock In Rio. Anyway, like the BBC discs, this is pure smoke. It is a pleasure to finally have a full concert with Clive Burr on drums and Bruce in top form. Of course you will hear “Iron Maiden” and numerous others again. With a box set of this nature it’s inevitable. If you’re a Maiden fan, you don’t care.  Do you?

Finally, the B’Sides.  Everything here has been made available before on singles.  There is nothing truly “unreleased” here as far as Maiden goes. There’s also nothing that is previously unreleased on CD unfortunately, like Maiden Japan or “I Live My Way” from the “Man On The Edge” 12″ single. For me, these discs are more just a “best of”. There are some cool tracks here such as the Montrose cover “I’ve Got The Fire”. (Maiden chose Dickinson’s version rather than Di’Anno’s, which is fine.) Other highlights include the pop metal goodness of “That Girl” and “Reach Out”, as well as originals such as “Burning Ambition” and “Invasion”. The covers that Maiden selects are mostly obscure enough (Nektar? Marshall Fury?) that they may as well be originals.

Then you get some of Maiden’s little-known jokey material: “Sheriff of Huddersfield” for example. I’m not sure how well it works as an overall listen. I prefer the singles in their original context, personally. As I mentioned, this is far from a complete set, and you can argue all you like for what you would have included. Certainly you can make solid arguments in favour of the Thin Lizzy cover “Massacre” or the rare “I Live My Way”.

Each CD jewel case features its own extensive booklet with photos, Derek Riggs cover art, and liner notes, with the exception of Beast Over Hammersmith. That one contains a booklet which is a reproduction of the original tour programme! Works for me! Otherwise, there is no book for the box set itself.

What you do get includes a neat scroll with the Iron Maiden family tree on it, wrapped inside a metal ring. (I’m sure this family tree is loaded with errors like the previous one included inside A Real Dead One, I’ve never bothered to check.) You also get this cool shot glass with Eddie’s face in the bottom. A cool treat. The box itself is a shiny tin masterpiece. It snaps shut securely and it is very detailed and cool looking.

What are you willing to pay for this set? That’s entirely up to you, but if you don’t have it, expect to pay through the teeth. Personally, to me it’s all about the music. Decide how much you’re willing to pay for approximately four discs of previously unreleased Maiden and purchase accordingly.

For me? 4/5 stars!

REVIEW: Neil Peart – “The Hockey Theme” (2010 single)

NEIL PEART – “The Hockey Theme” (2010 single, iTunes)

For my international friends and readers, you’re just going to have to take my word for it that this little tune is one of the most iconic pieces of music in our nation’s great history.  Mike Myers called it “Canada’s second anthem”.  If you’re home on a Saturday night, it’s a given that any true hoser is watching Hockey Night In Canada.  That theme song was the anthem that said, “Alright fans, go get your beer and your jerseys, the action starts now.”

I won’t get into the details of why this song isn’t the theme to Hockey Night In Canada anymore, but the song was picked up by another network, and it still kicks off hockey games every week — just not on Hockey Night in Canada.

In 2010, Neil Peart did a drum and horns version of the theme song, and put it up for sale on iTunes.  People bitched that they had to pay $1.29 for a song that was barely over a minute long.  All I can say to those people is, don’t buy it.  It you’re really huffing and puffing about paying $1.29 for a simply incredible piece of music by the world’s greatest drummer, then it is possible that you may in fact have no soul.

If you’re familiar with Neil’s work on the Burning For Buddy albums, then you already know that he tends to really kick traditional arrangements in the nuts.  And that’s what he does here.  He turns “The Hockey Theme” into a stomping, fill-laden anthem that is perfect for kicking off just about any mix CD that you have in mind.

Now, if we could only get an actual hockey season happening this year, we’d be talkin’!

5/5 stars